Plans are underway to provide Persons Living with HIV/AIDS with a medical scheme in Kisumu County.
The county’s health CeC Dr Elizabeth Ogaja says they want to involve the insurance companies to give the patients’ health insurance policies at a subsidised fee so that they do not skip treatment.
Consequently, she said that Kisumu County will come up with its own survey indicator for each sub county to know which constituencies were worst hit with HIV infections.
“Our own survey will help us realise which area needs more attention and therefore channel more funds and health infrastructure to reduce the prevalence those areas,” Dr Ogaja said.
Dr Ogaja spoke during the commemoration of the World Aids Day celebration at Jomo Kenyatta sports ground on Monday.
Kisumu has been ranked the third county nationally with a total of 134, 826 people currently living with the virus according to the Ministry of Health 2013 statistics.
Children constitute 12 per cent of those living with the disease in the county.
The statistics have further revealed that HIV prevalence among women in the lakeside city is higher at 20.6 per cent than that of men which stands at 17.8 per cent.
The county had also acquired 10,349 new adult infections.
The health ministry aims to reduce new infections by at least 50 per cent in all counties by 2015.
In 2013, approximately 2,861 adults and 1,040 children died from AIDS related complications in Kisumu last year.
Out of the 96,000 new infections, 10,349 are from Kisumu County currently.